The Ohio State Buckeyes lost significant talent to the 2025 NFL Draft shortly after wrapping up its National Championship-winning season. The 2025 season is quickly becoming the program's focus in the wake of its incredible year. Head coach Ryan Day and his revamped coaching staff will have their work cut out so that they can get a young corps of talent in place.

With a staff still finalizing who will be the new defensive coordinator and the inevitable movement after that announcement, we're projecting the Buckeyes' defensive two-deep entering spring practices.

2025 Ohio State Defensive Depth Chart

Defensive End

• Caden Curry
• Kenyatta Jackson Jr.
• Logan George
• Zion Grady
• Joshua Mickens
• Dominic Kirks

The biggest change across the Buckeyes' defense compared to the 2024 unit will come along the defensive line. Veterans JT Tuimoloau and Jack Sawyer accounted for more than 1,300 snaps last season, and primary backups Kenyatta Jackson and Caden Curry had only 546 snaps between them. It's about time we see these talented backups.

Jackson was let loose as a pass-rusher more and was the more effective player of the two, but Curry is the more stout run defender. This should be a quality duo, and I'd expect the Buckeyes to work in rotations more often. Transfer addition Logan George will battle true freshman Zion Grady and young backups Joshua Mickens and Dominic Kirks.

Defensive Tackle

• Kayden McDonald
• Eddrick Houston
• Tywone Malone Jr.
• Jason Moore
• Will Smith Jr.
• Eric Mensah

The loss of Hero Kanu to Texas was unexpected and unfortunate for a defensive tackle group that also lacks experience. Kayden McDonald had only 216 snaps in 2024, and Eddrick Houston is transitioning from the end. Both were phenomenal in limited snaps, but they will need to be spelled.

The rest of the defensive line had similar experience as reservists in 2024. This unit isn't exactly young, as McDonald, Malone, Moore, and Smith are each in their third to fifth years. But they're inexperienced and could potentially use a transfer addition to solidify it.

Middle Linebacker

• Arvell Reese
• Payton Pierce
• Ty Howard
• Garrett Stover

It'll be interesting to see where true freshmen Riley Pettijohn and Tarvos Alford fit into this group. They're talented enough to play early but are also clearly behind veterans who have flashed or proven themselves already. Arvell Reese is atop that list of young stars.

Reese is incredibly gifted as a three-down linebacker and should push to be a 100-tackle producer. Payton Pierce and Garrett Stover are only sophomores, and incoming transfer Ty Howard will be at least a decent depth piece on special teams.

Outside Linebacker

• Sonny Styles
• C.J. Hicks
• Riley Pettijohn
• Tarvos Alford

Sonny Styles returned instead of jumping to the NFL, significantly boosting the Buckeyes' defensive core. I think the freshmen duo slot in as depth behind Styles and maybe Howard here.

C.J. Hicks somewhat surprisingly came back instead of transferring as well. A talented rush end, he's in line to be the Jack edge-rusher that Jim Knowles always wanted to deploy but couldn't successfully integrate into the unit. He can't do much else, but he can be incredibly valuable as a pass-rushing savant if the new defensive coordinator(s) have him working toward the quarterback all the time.

Cornerback

• Davison Igbinosun
• Jermaine Mathews Jr.
• Devin Sanchez
• Aaron Scott Jr.
• Lorenzo Styles Jr.
• Bryce West

The Buckeyes scored another win by avoiding another few departures, but they're not out of the woods quite yet. Davison Igbinosun is a lock to start, but it'll be a storyline as to whether Jermaine Mathews Jr. can fight off the young talent behind him. With all of the hype around five-star corner Devin Sanchez, it'd make sense for the Buckeyes to make sure the freshman is getting a ton of snaps.

Other young bodies like Aaron Scott Jr. and Bryce West will surely get some rotational snaps, but I expect fifth-year senior and special teams ace Lorenzo Styles Jr. to see defensive opportunities as well. The losses of Denzel Burke and Jordan Hancock to the NFL shouldn't be too significant despite their experience and pedigrees, as 2024 was a tough season for each.

Safety

• Caleb Downs
• Jaylen McClain
• Malik Hartford
• Keenan Nelson Jr.
• Faheem Delane

Caleb Downs is the best defensive player in the country, but the rest of the safety room lacks experience and polish. There's a reason the Buckeyes wanted Dillon Thieneman from Purdue before he took a bigger bag to go to Oregon. 

However, it's not time to panic, as Jaylen McClain and Malik Hartford saw around 100 snaps each last year, and the staff likes the young talent available.